Dawn 'Til Dusk
by Chick-A-Dee788
Summary: A brave girl named Stella falls down a hole to Halloween Town. There she meets Jack and Sally's son Demetri. Will love blossom between the two as a new force of darkness rises to take over Halloween Town?
1. Down the Rabbit Hole to Halloween Town

**Look, look, look! I'm back and ready to rumble! I know you guys have been waiting to read the next chapter of Secret Angel, but I just haven't been in the mood to type anything down for it. Maybe this story might get my imagination juices flowing!**

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**Demetri and Stella**

**Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole to Halloween Town**

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"Stella? Stella? Where are you?!" A young woman around her twenties yelled, searching for her lost child.

A girl that was at the age of five hid in some bushes, giggling at her frantic mother. She had large bright emerald green eyes that were filled with laughter, long red hair, and a angelic smile that would have had anyone wrapped around her little finger. She was dressed in a pure white halter dress that stopped just above her knees and white ballet flats. The last thing she wanted to do was be found by her mother and be chastised for running off. Just then a small white rabbit came running past her, darting into the woods. She smiled and started chasing after the rabbit.

"Wait! Come here little bunny!" She squealed. Soon the rabbit started to take on another shape. It started to turn green and grow scales and horns. But Stella was not worried about its new form, only concerned about catching the small fury creature she had just seen moments ago.

Not long after its transformation, the small dragon-like creature scurried into a rabbit hole just big enough for her to fit into. Stella, being the brave child she was, crawled in after it with no hesitation, not noticing that the opening had closed completely, sealing her in. It was dark in the small tunnel, but Stella continued on. Her search abruptly ended when her hands failed to find the ground, tumbling downward. But she wasn't scared like anyone else would have been, in fact she laughed at the new sensation of falling, spreading her arms out wide.

Soon she started to slow down, gracefully landing on the ground. Frowning at the loss of the new feeling, she took a step forward only to hear something crunch softly under her foot. Confused, she bent down to pick up the culprit to find that it was a brown leaf. Curiosity got the best of her. What was a leaf doing down here in a rabbit hole she wondered, it was only then that she took a look at her new surroundings.

She was surrounded by tall trees that loomed over her, their bare branches stretching out like long arms. In the black sky hung a bight orange moon, serving as her only light, and very few stars dotted the sky. In the distance she could see a large gate, circling around a small looking town.

"What's this? A small human child?" A voice questioned. Startled, Stella quickly twisted around to see someone's bone-like legs. She leaned back to see who the legs were connected to, all most to the point to where she was looking straight up. It was a skeleton. His skull was a chalky white, no skin anywhere on him, even his eye sockets were bare. He was dressed in a black and white pinned striped suit and a strange looking tie that stretched past his bony shoulders. He bent down to her height and spoke, "What's your name?"

"Stella, what's yours?" She asked, unafraid of the being in front of her.

He smiled at her curiosity, "My name is Jack, could you tell me how you got down here?"

"I followed a bunny into the rabbit hole and fell down here," she answered.

He tensed. "Is that so?" She nodded, "Well until I figure out how to get you back to your world, I suppose you could stay at my home. Will that bother you?"

She shook her head, immediately brightening up at the thought of staying at a skeleton's house.

"Well come along then," he straightened himself out and began walking, Stella followed.

"Jack?" She asked as she caught up with him, "does anyone else live with you?"

He looked ahead to the gate adoringly, "Ah, yes I do. I have my beautiful wife Sally and my son Demetri."

Stella nodded, smiling, "What are they like?"

"You'll see once we get there," he answered as they reached the gate. He turned toward her, smiling and stretching his arms out, "Welcome to Halloween Town!" He proudly shouted out his welcoming.

"Halloween Town?" She asked.

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**That's the end of chapter one! Love it? Hate it? Tell me your opinion!**

**Love, EvilAngel**


	2. Meeting the Skellington Family

**Come one, Come all! I love that song! But right now I have news! I have changed my pen name from EvilAngel2008 to MusicIsMyAir! Now put that little piece of information in the back of your head. Time to start the party!!****

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**Demetri and Stella**

**Chapter Two: Meeting the Skellington Family****

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Stella was lead though the well lit town. Large pumpkin lanterns were hung on every corner and strange looking creatures danced and laughed at one another's jokes. Stella stared at them in wonder and amazement, never in her life had she seen such a lively town. Small vampire children played with the head of someone's deceased body, witches on their brooms' filled the dark sky, and a trio of rotting corpses played music as some scale-covered beings danced along to the beat. But that was only some of the creatures she had seen only in the town square.

Some of the townsfolk turned to greet Jack as he walked on, then they would notice the small child trailing him, staring at them with a smile on her face. None of the townsfolk knew what to think of the being they had never seen before. But they didn't give it a second thought, Jack would announce the news of her arrival if it was of the up most importance.

Soon the two came up on the grandest house Stella had ever seen. It looked old and rickety but Stella loved it all the same. On the side of the mansion was a tall crooked tower. She could see someone move around, then a bright flash of colors appeared. She decided that was where she was going to investigate first after she was settled in the house.

Jack opened the front door of the house to a brilliantly colored living room, decorated with oranges and many shades of red. "Sally? I'm home!" Jack called out into the house.

"Jack? I'm glad you're home! How was your walk?" A gentle voice called out from another room to the right. Jack walked toward the room, pushing open two large orange double doors with carvings of cats and ghosts on them.

"You won't believe it Sally. I was on my way back and I found this human child out by the gate," Jack answered, pushing Stella out in front of him for his wife to see.

They entered the kitchen to see a doll-like person putting something on the stove. The doll turned around to look at the two. She was beautiful to Stella. The doll had long red hair that stop at the middle of her back, and clad in a dress that looked liked it was sewn from many different pieces of cloth. But the most defined thing about her was that she had stitches everywhere. They started at every joint of her body and there was some on her face. She smiled at Stella, "My, she's a beautiful child. Do you know how she got here?" She looked back up at Jack.

He frowned, "Apparently she followed Drake down his rabbit hole and ended up here. At the next town meeting I will make sure he gets a good talking to!" He promised, shaking his fist at the air.

A few giggles escaped her mouth, "What's her name?"

"Stella,"

"What a beautiful name. Wait one moment, I'll get Demetri," Sally left and walked up some stairs. Seconds later, Sally came down the stairs with a boy around the age of seven following her, "Stella, this is Demetri," she introduced.

Demetri was a handsome looking skull child. He was about a head taller than Stella and looked just like a younger version of his father except for his full head of long, black messy hair. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt with red skulls on the front and jeans. He smiled at Stella, causing her to blush a bit, "Hello Stella. Its an honor to meet you," he bent on one knee, catching her right hand and kissed it.

Stella's eyes went wide as she pulled her hand out of his grasp and to her chest, blushing up to her ears, "O-Oh, the p-pleasure's all m-mine," she stammered, smiling at him.

Jack looked at Sally and smiled at the two children. Then he decided he would get their attention, "So Demetri, how about you take Stella up to your room while your mother and I talk about a few things."

Demetri nodded. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her upstairs. On their trip, Stella saw several doors that led to even more colorful rooms. Finally they came to a spiraling stair case that Stella assumed led to the tower she had seen outside. After what felt like an eternity of climbing stairs, they reached a grey door.

Demetri opened the door to reveal a brightly colored room. To the left was a full length window with a table full of microscopes, test tubes, beakers, and any other scientific tools you could think of a few feet in front of the window. In one of the bigger beakers was a rainbow colored liquid. She concluded that it was that liquid that made the flash of bight colors. To the right was a bed with orange and black covers and a small sliver bed post one side and a sliver dresser next to it. A black table set complete with two black chairs were with it.

Demetri looked at her sheepishly, "So…what do you think?"

Stella looked around once more before she turned to answer him, " I like it. Its got the pumpkin town prince look to it," she smiled.

He looked at her weirdly, "Pumpkin town prince?" He laughed.

She nodded, "Well, yeah since Jack is the king, that makes you the prince."

"Well I know that. But how did you know that my Dad was the king? Did he tell you?"

She shook her head, "No, but it was the most reasonable explanation to why everyone in town was greeting him with so much respect."

He grinned, "So your pretty smart. I think we'll get along just fine."

She blushed until she was bright red, "So what were you working on before I got here? I saw a bright flash of color before I entered."

"Oh that. I was trying to create a different kind of firework I could shoot off at unsuspecting towns people," he smiled devilishly.

Stella liked the thought of some of the citizens running from a mysterious firework that seemingly came from nowhere, " I like it. So what do you have so far?"

"Well, I have the color, but that's it. I need to figure out how to turn it from a liquid to a solid."

Stella walked over to the beaker, smiling, "I think I can work something out."

After a few minutes of doing the experiment, they finally got it right. Demetri was amazed at her intelligence at the age of only five, "Wow Stella, how did you know how to do this?" He asked.

She shrugged, "I fooled around with some experiments back in my world. So just slap a piece of dynamite on that bad boy and you're good to go," she smiled.

"How about we test it out?"

"You read my mind."

They rushed over to the open window and looked out. Outside was what seemed like the mayor of the town trying to get inside the fence. Demetri made a face at him, "I don't like the mayor. He's always bugging my Dad and treating me like a pest."

"Well it's the perfect time to get him back," she said, waving the firework in his face.

He smiled back at her as he started to set the firework. He grabbed a match and lit it, "Ignition in 3... 2... 1... FIRE!" He shouted as he lit the dynamite. It sizzled and crackled before it came to life, whizzing down the tower and toward the poor unsuspecting mayor. Before they knew it, the mayor was hollering about the bright lights and burning hotness that had startled him.

Stella laughed out loud, "HAHAHA! So funny!" She laughed uncontrollably, Demetri soon found himself laughing with her as well.

"Demetri! Stella! Please come down for a moment!" Sally's voice traveled up to them.

"Coming!" They both answered. They raced down the stairs as fast as their small legs could carry them. That was, until they re-entered the living room to face a scary-looking Jack that was benbing down to their height.

"Do either of you two want to explain why I have a screaming mayor prancing around my front gate?" Jack asked.

Stella giggled at his choice of words. But her giggles abruptly stopped after Jack gave her a stern look, "Well, Demetri was working on a new project and we needed a test subject and the mayor was the closest one," Stella explained.

Jack looked over to Demetri who was looking down at his feet, "Is that true Demetri?" Jack asked. Demetri nodded his head, "Well why would you two something so ridiculous… without me?!"

Stella and Demetri did a double take. Demetri was the first to snap out of his shock, "So, you're not mad at us?"

Jack threw his head back and laughed, "No son. Why would I be? Do you honestly believe that I would punish you for playing a harmless prank on the mayor? Why, this is the trickery capital and you're looking at the king! If anything, I would have appreciated it if you two would have invited me so I could enjoy the mayor's surprise too," Jack looked at the two now smiling children, getting to the point of their discussion, "Well Stella. I believe that you are very welcome to stay at our house as long as you like. Sally agreed and so did Demetri."

Stella looked baffled, "Demetri? When did you ask him?"

"Sally talked to him about it when she went to get him so he could meet you. All we had need to discuss was the arrangements for your stay."

"Really? Where will I be Staying?"

Jack smiled softly at her, " You will be taking the room across from Demetri's. Would you like to see it now?"

Stella rapidly nodded her head, grinning widely. Jack stood up to his full height and began walking, leading. Stella grabbed Demetri's hand and followed after the king. Stella might have not noticed it, but Demetri did. He was very self conscious when he felt Stella's warm and skin covered hand tightly holding his boney one. If he could have, he would had blushed all the way up to his ears.

Finally, they had reached the door that lead to Stella's new room, there was a door there now that hadn't been there before. Jack made a big deal about it and bowed deeply as he opened the door, "Your new palace only fit for the new princess of Halloween Town," he stretched his right arm out, fingers spread out, to what lay inside the room.

Stella smiled at Jack and curtseyed for him before turning to walk in the room with Demetri silently following behind her. The room was stunning. The wall farthest from her was not a wall, but actually giant window in its place. There was a dark purple table set in front of the window. If she sat there at night, it would give her a great view of the large black forest behind the house and the full orange moon that silently and slightly illuminated the outer edges of the woods. To her right was a queen sized bed that had black sheets and black and purple covers. Next to it was a black bed post with a lamp on it with carved witches on their brooms' so when the lamp was turned on, giant shadows of them would appear on the walls. To her left was a large vanity table already stocked with anything she might need.

There was two doors on either side of the table. She opened the one on the right to a huge walk in closet that seemed to stretch for miles and miles, already filled with the cutest clothes. From dark black and white play clothes to the extravagant gothic dresses fit for a new princess such as herself. She closed the closet door and turned to the other door. It was her very own private bathroom. The color scheme was a deep blue color with mosaics of the scaled water beings she had seen earlier. In the middle was a gigantic white old-fashioned bathtub that could fit at least four of her. Off to the side was a sink built into the wall and a full length mirror next to it.

She closed the bathroom door and ran as fast as she could to Jack, leaving poor Demetri in her wake, and colliding with Jack as she gave him her tightest hug, "Thank you so much," she whispered to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, clinging to him.

Jack was surprised at first, then he smiled and slowly wrapped his arms around her. He enjoyed the hug, but what he enjoyed more was the look of jealousy that Demetri shot at him. Jack smiled evilly as he tightened his hold on Stella, bringing her closer to him. Demetri now had a look that was full of hatred for his father and for the scene he had to watch happen in front of him. Jack could swear that he could hear a low growl come from his son.

Now that Jack had his fun, he whispered to Stella, but loud enough for Demetri to hear, "It wasn't just me that has done this. If Demetri hadn't agreed to you staying with us, we would had sent you back as soon as we could. You should also be thanking him."

Demetri silently mouthed a 'Thank you' to his father as Stella tackled him down to the floor in a death grip of a hug, "Thank you Demetri. I promise to be the greatest roommate that lives across the hall," she whispered to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. She hopped up off him before he could react and tugged Jack's hand to follow her down the steps as she asked him how he made a door and a new room appear out of nowhere.

Demetri lay there for a few seconds after they left, soaking up what had just happened. Then reality hit him hard and sat up too fast so his head started to spin. After another few seconds he recovered, just enough time for his surroundings to stop spiraling, he hopped up to his feet and bounded after the two.

_Life will be interesting from now on._

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**Woo! Alright! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! FINISHED! Sorry for the hold up folks, but either I had writer's block or was basically just too lazy to think. BUT ITS FINISHED! I think I made Stella too smart for her own good. In the first chapter, she was just a happy little five year old, now she turned to a evil little genius. I JUST CAN'T KEEP MY CHARACTERS INNOCENT!! ALSO!! I think I made Demetri a little too star-struck then I intended him to be. But I love this chapter anyways. So tell me what you think! Hate it? Love it? Think it's the best story in the world? I need answers! Creative criticism is welcomed and appreciated!**

**Love, MusicIsMyAir (Formerly known as EvilAngel2008) **


	3. Strategizing

**I don't have anything to say right now so on with the story!**

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**Demetri and Stella**

**Chapter Three: Strategizing **

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**Eight Years Later**

Stella had changed over the course of eight years. Her mind had become quicker, more responsive, more alert of her surroundings. Her attitude began to shape into something that would make her well known about in Halloween Town. Head strong, not afraid to speak her mind, and became very clever when talking herself and Demetri out of trouble, which was almost all the time. Her physical appearance had changed as well. Her long red hair had grown a couple of inches, she herself had grown to the normal height of twelve year old. Even her movements had become as graceful as a cat and as quiet as a thief. She had matured into a stunning redhead with a feisty personality.

Demetri had changed as well. He was still a few heads taller than Stella. His body structure was lean and muscular, or as muscular as a skeletal teenager could be. His movements slow and calculating. That only changed when Stella was looking in his direction. His personality had become somber and quiet until he was alone with Stella, only then would he smile and laugh along with her. Over the years he had become a sort of caretaker of Stella. Though he didn't mind at all. His crush for Stella had grown from small and simple to a burning love that threatened to swallow him whole. Though he would never express his feelings to her, she was to fascinated with the world around her to see the emotions that were bottled up inside of him.

At first, when Stella had started living amongst the towns folk, they were skeptical, not really comfortable with an unknown being around them. But after a little encouragement from Jack, Sally, and Demetri, they accepted her without asking questions. In fact, they were overjoyed when Stella introduced new ideas for them to try next Halloween. She and Demetri became idols in the eyes of everyone.

At the moment, Demetri was silently waiting for Stella to pick something to wear, petting her black cat she had named Noir. Apparently her style in clothing had changed also, with encouragement it had changed from light and spring-like to dark and mysterious, blending in with the shadows. Demetri himself was simply dressed in a black pumpkin tee shirt, dark blue jeans, and black converses.

Finally she chose something and sprinted into the bathroom. When she emerged, she was wearing a black quarter-length collared shirt with a loose red tie around it and a black vest. For her lower body, she chose a layered black and red skirt that was ripped and had fishing net material over it, red and black socks that reached her thighs and black boots that reached her knees. On her delicate hands were fingerless gloves that were fishing net material. Her hair was down with a black headband on top of her head.

"I like it," Demetri commented. Stella held her head high, but you could see a small blush on her cheeks that he had failed to noticed.

"Now that I'm ready, we can go now," Stella announced.

Together they walked down the winding staircase to the family room. Jack was there going over the plans for Halloween that was tomorrow and Sally was working on sewing a new skull bunny doll for Stella. It was probably a present for Stella since they didn't know the date of her birthday, it was to be held on Halloween, making her a true child fit for the role as Halloween Town's princess.

Jack looked up from his work and smiled at the two as they entered the room, "Ah, the graduates have finally come down from their hiding spots. Are you ready for your last day of schooling?"

"Of course, school is nothing but a pain in the tailbone," Demetri explained.

"We have finally past the requirement for our education so we can finally leave!" Stella agreed smiling, throwing her arms up in the air and twirling around. Demetri smiled just a bit and caught her by the arm before she ran into something.

Stella smiled at him before taking his hand and leading him out the door.

"Take care of Stella, Demetri! Both of you have fun!" Jack called out before Demetri shut the door behind him.

Demetri looked at Stella before asking, "You ready?"

Stella nodded and captured his hand once again, intertwining their fingers together, as they both started off to their destination. They had repeated this process ever since they started school, but neither Stella or Demetri had ever gotten used to the tingling sensation they both got when their fingers touched one another's. Secretly, Stella had always loved Demetri as well, but couldn't swallow her pride and tell him. So she would just act like she didn't have feelings for him.

They finally reached the Doctor's house and entered. Jack and Sally had asked the Doctor if he would tutor them, since he was very fond of Jack he agreed. That was three years ago. The two had shared Jack's fondness for science and had absorbed the knowledge like small sponges. Since the two were incredibly smart, they learned what would take a normal child at least eight years to learn, took them three years. The Doctor was proud that he could have the chance to teach such fine students. Today would be their last day of school, then they would be free to only help with Halloween every year.

They walked up the ramp to the laboratory and sat down at a table in the center of the room.

"The mice have finally arrived," a voice said. The Doctor came out from the shadows. He was a small old man that was in a wheelchair. His head was opened as he scratched his brain. The Doctor taught them the remainder of their studies and let them go, "Run along you two, scurry away like the clever mice that you are," he said as he waved them off. As they exited, they saw Jewel making the Doctor his lunch. She waved and smiled at the two as they passed by.

The two started off to the cemetery. They were going to meet up with Lock, Shock, and Barrel to go over their plans for Halloween. They were to meet up at the cemetery. When they got there, the graveyard was quiet.

At that moment, the troublesome trio were hiding hiding behind some tomb stones. To them, the two looked confused and not alert of their location. But they underestimated the duo. Their minds were on red alert as an eerie air settled on the cemetery.

With some pumpkins filled with green liquid in hand, Lock signaled them to take aim. Then he started the countdown from three to one. As they were about to launch their attack, a large bony hand came down on

Lock's head and clamped on so that there was no escape. A startled yelp came from the devil's mouth as he was catapulted across the field to collide with the scarecrow with a pumpkin as a head that stood on the outer edge of the graveyard.

"Ow," Lock muttered as he rubbed his head, feeling a lump already forming through his unruly red hair. Shock was the first to make a sound, crackling at her friend's misfortune. Then the other three joined in as well, laughing until tears formed in their eyes. Lock growled from his place on the ground, "Why am I the one you always pick on, huh? Am I amusing to you?"

Demetri chuckled at Lock's obvious anger, "Actually, yeah," Lock in return, muttered something under his breath that Demetri didn't catch.

"How did you know where we were anyway?"

"Barrel probably stepped on a twig or something and gave away or location," Shock concluded.

Barrel did not look happy at that comment, "Nuh uh. If anything, it was your frumpy old hat sticking out from behind the tombstone,"

"Why you," Shock managed before she tackled Barrel down to the ground.

"Knock it off both of you!" Lock yelled at the two as they rolled around pulling each other's hair. They immediately froze and hopped a few feet away from each other.

Stella rolled her eyes at their antics, "Moving on, we need to strategize," she was ready to get to the point of their meeting.

Lock grinned, "Now you're talking," he then pulled out a map from his shirt pocket. When he was done unfolding it, he spread out on the ground as everyone gathered around it. On the map was what looked liked a small rural community, "This year we been assigned a town called Nateville. The place is made up of two divided areas. The right side of the town is made up of lots of small modern homes, and the left is a lot of abandoned farms and storage areas. Lots of haunted houses are set up too. Barrel, Shock, and I will be taking the left side and you and Demetri will be taking the right," he looked up at them and smirked, "I you guys like a challenge 'cause the right side will be crawling with cops looking for punks that like to get in trouble on Halloween."

Stella out a harsh laugh, "Ha! I live off challenges! I'd like to see them try to see them catch me!"

Demetri nodded at Lock, "Sounds like a plan. So we'll meet back up again around eleven forty-five tomorrow at the town gate after the ceremony, alright?"

The three nodded, "Yeah, we'll meet you then. We need to go suit up," then they headed off to their hideout.

As they started their trek back to town, Stella turned to Demetri, "Ready for some trick or treating Demetri?"

"Always."

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**Chapter Three!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


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